"Life...is tough, no matter the path you walk. You have to be tough as beskar to be a real optimist, to look at the bright side despite the garbage piled on you day after day - and you have to be scum to be completely apathetic, to have every redeeming trait of sentient life cleanly exorcised out of you. You have to find the middle ground. It's the best that men like you and I can really do.

We walk that ground every day. A dozen of us fight for a dozen different reasons, against men with drives and goals not entirely unlike our own. Fighting for the sake of fighting, because it's all we know. When we walk into politics or relationships, we mess it up; we're warriors, fighters, not talkers. Some of us try to do good, but more often than not, we have to settle for not making things worse than they already are. We do our best, and we hope it's enough.

Men see my armor, and they know that I am Mandalorian, and they pass me off as a thug, as a brute mercenary who doesn't care about anything but himself. It's us Mandalorians versus the galaxy. Together, we stand alone in a galaxy that despises us, and it lets us know it every chance it can get - and it really weighs down on you after a while. You grow tired. You grow cynical. You just stumble from one battle to another, hoping, waiting for something.

And then, one day, fighting in a war for a reason you don't understand or a cause you don't believe in, on a side you can't say for sure is better than any other, you stumble across a town. Somebody else beat you there. The men are dead. The children are crying. The women are taken.

And then you remember why you picked up a gun in the first place, and you run out to bring those kids' mothers back to them."

— Dante Erinith ~ Year 16

Dante Erinith, otherwise commonly known by the alias of Aegyl Seraf, is one of - if not the only - Echani currently operating publicly in the galaxy. Ostensibly born and raised on the desolate planet of Rhen Var by an Echani mother and a supposedly Mandalorian father, he adopted both cultures as he grew up, and for a long time struggled to balance the two out as he made his way in the galaxy. Upon becoming of age, he turned his attentions to matters of conflict and battle, rapidly proving himself to be something of a prodigy in that arena.

Raised on stories of the Galactic Empire, however, he took the earliest opportunity he could find to join up with them. While initially facing great difficulty due to his race and a lack of social graces, he eventually joined the Imperial Army, serving in a variety of capacities in the First Imperial Legion for four years. Over this time, however, he came to see what he viewed as the 'true face' of the Empire and became greatly disillusioned, coming to the realization that the Empire he had grown up believing in was nothing more than a well crafted lie.

Betrayed and finding himself fleeing from the Empire's agents after being dishonorably discharged and declared a traitor, Dante re-examined his loyalties, and over a course of years apparently came to the conclusion that he would never again blindly follow another. From then on, he explored the galaxy with only a few companions and assets to his name, becoming an assassin and mercenary for hire in the less civilized and known areas of space and making a point out of remaining 'just another face', staying away from the affairs of the social elite - an effort that has largely been successful, with there being little confirmed information about him and his activities.

Early in year 18, however, he was discovered by an unknown individual to be Force Sensitive. A short time later, he declared his abandonment of the Mandalorian culture and instead began to walk the Jedi Path. Sometime around the beginning of Year 19, he was confirmed as being a member of the Jedi Order, in training under Hal Gevant of the Jedi Council.

Tavi'Onvar

"Pfft! Yeah, right. 'Morality' they keep saying, like it means anything. You've shown me better - the galaxy has shown me better. 'Right' is on the side of the guy with power. You can't appeal to some made-up idea like 'rights' or 'morals' when the guy with the power is beating down on you, because they don't exist, they're pointless. You 'n me, we know better. We know what if you've got a problem with it, the only thing you can do is do something about it. I...I got lucky. You saved me, even when you didn't have to. Not everybody's so lucky, I know, but they aren't making it any easier for themselves! If they really hate what's going on, they should stand up and do something, not wait for somebody else to do it!"

— Tavi'Onvar

"Never again. Never again, you hear me!? I'm not letting you animals do what you want anymore - and you can't stop me!"

— Tavi'Onvar

Background

Tavi'Onvar, otherwise known as Tavion Varsin, is the Twi'lek co-pilot and companion of Dante Erinith. Formerly a mildly infamous smuggler and contraband runner in the Zann Consortium, she was captured by the Galactic Empire as she visited family on Ryloth. Taken as a slave by the Imperial Officer leading the capture, she was taken back to Imperial Space and made to work as a dancer, both for his pleasure and as a form of humiliation. Several weeks later, however, she made an escape attempt which failed. Upon re-capture by the Officer and several of his stormtroopers, she was reportedly attacked, and suffered abuse at their hands.

It was at this time that Dante Erinith arrived, himself escaping from the Empire upon learning of their perceived betrayal. While too late to prevent her assault, he ambushed the soldiers and overwhelmed them, rescuing Tavion from a prompt execution. In shock, she was initially distrustful and hateful of the human-looking Dante and refused to travel with him, instead killing the Officer while the Mandalorian ventured onward; however, as she recovered she pursued him, ultimately saving him from a hopeless situation. Escaping together upon a stolen vessel, they joined together as partners, and have remained such ever since.

Personality

In contrast to the majority of Dante's companions, Tavion comes off as impulsive and almost childish in her dealings. Filled with a seemingly unlimited supply of energy, she is not shy about speaking her mind on anything to anybody, seemingly recognizing no authority save that of Dante himself. Friendly in her dealings with others, she is nonetheless possessed of a sharp wit which she often makes use of, joining the others in their usual verbal sparring whenever it occurs.

However, underneath her friendly and carefree exterior lies a tired and galaxy-weary soul who has seen much darkness in her life. Slow to trust, she has long since lost her innocence and naivete, replacing them with cynicism and a jaded view of life. Despite this, however, she still does what she can to aid those in need and retains an almost pure sort of kindness, particularly to the downtrodden and powerless, or those that have suffered unjustly at the hands of another.

In the same vein, she is filled with hatred for those that abuse their power at the expense of others, though she acknowledges that possessing such power gives them the 'right' to do so, and while kind towards them she is at the same time exasperated by those that knuckle down and endure rather than rise up and 'do something about it'. In particular she hates slavers and the Empire, and does not hesitate to take opportunities to harm them where she can.

Skills

Tavion Varsin is a highly skilled pilot, often functioning as the pilot of Dante Erinith's preferred ship, the 'Shatter Zero', and taking charge of the 'Praelior', though at times she is known to serve as co-pilot instead. She is also a knowledgeable mechanic and repairman, and while she specializes in ships, she has claimed that she can repair and fix anything under the sun - and has thus far not failed in living up to that claim.

Having spent many years of her life trading and eluding the watchful eyes of the authorities, she is a talented sneak and fence, and has many underworld connections that she still maintains to this day. While she possesses some skills in the areas of medicine and marksmanship, she is no warrior, preferring to fight from behind the controls of a ship than toe-to-toe with rifles and armor. However, she is a skilled martial artist, having learned directly from her Echani companion and making full use of her race's natural dexterity, granting her a viable alternative in combat situations.

Equipment

She often disdains the use of armor, hating how it slows her down in spite of the added protection, preferring to wear a catch vest with matching jacket and pants. Making use of a toolbelt to carry a surplus of gear, such as her toolkit, she also uses this to carry a sidearm pistol for ranged protection. When forced to enter into a combat situation, however, she typically dons a customized suit of battle armor, being a form-fitting suit colored black with long red stripes running down the pauldrons and arms to the gauntlets, complete with a lekku-compatible tactical helmet.